Instead, Sinopec, or China Petroleum & Chemical Corp., has begun taking over upstream oil and gas assets held by its parent, Sinopec Group, as part of a strategy to establish itself as a global energy giant such as Exxon Mobil Corp. Until this year, the only asset it had acquired from the parent was a deep-water oil field in Angola in 2010.

Two of Hong Kong’s richest men, Li Ka-shing and Lee Shau-kee, have been buying shares in their companies in recent days, sending their stocks up on Wednesday.

Mr. Li bought 980,000 shares in Hutchison Whampoa Ltd. and 250,000 shares in Cheung Kong (Holdings) Ltd. on April 5, according to filings to the stock exchange, raising his holdings slightly to 52.45% and 43.33% respectively.

Mr. Lee is the chairman of developer Henderson Land Development Co. Ltd. According to filings, he bought a total of 4.56 million shares on April 3 and 5, taking his stake in the city’s third-largest developer to 63.2%.

Here’s a roundup of the highlights and lowlights from the first quarter for 2013 for Asia-Pacific’s dealmakers.

Reuters

Just How Low Hong Kong’s IPO Market Can Go

Once a shining beacon of equity capital markets activity, Hong Kong’s IPO market limped across the finish line in the first three months of the year. In terms of total deal activity –$1.05 billion in funds raised by Dealogic’s estimates – Hong Kong ranks 9th in the world in terms of listing destinations these days, down from 6th place this time last year. Even the Iraq Stock Exchange has attracted more activity, boasting $1.35 billion worth of deal flow. Granted Iraq’s volumes were boosted by one deal, the $1.35 billion Asiacell Communications IPO. Still, it illustrates just how far Hong Kong, the world’s top venue for IPOs globally from 2009 to 2011, has fallen.

Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co. said Wednesday it appointed a turnaround expert as new chief executive to its Tokyo office, as the U.S. private equity giant ramps ups its presence in the notoriously difficult Japanese market.

Shusaku Minoda will be promoted to chairman of KKR Japan from his current role of managing director and chief executive officer. Mr. Minoda’s old job will be assumed by Hirofumi Hirano, who joins from restructuring firm AlixPartners Asia LLC, where he was managing director and head of the financial services practice in Asia.

Airline stocks across Asia have been hit by the outbreak of H7N9 bird flu in China and analysts at UBS AG have crunched the numbers to offer some perspective on Hong Kong’s Cathay Pacific, which has endured worse outbreak-related pain in the past.

UBS says the outbreak of severe acute respiratory syndrome (Sars) in Hong Kong in 2003 was one of the worst periods ever for Cathay Pacific, which that year saw its revenue passenger kilometers–the distance traveled by passengers–fall 31% on year during the March-to-August period. By comparison, it fell only 10% on year in the May-to-July period during the H1N1 bird flu outbreak in 2009.

Liquidity-starved STX Group has asked its main creditor to buy its $231 million, 35.93% shipping unit stake after receiving no bids for it late last month.

“Korea Development Bank’s private equity team has hired advisors to review the possible acquisition of STX Pan Ocean following STX Group’s request,” STX Pan Ocean –Korea’s largest bulk carrier–said in a late-Monday filing to the Korea Exchange.

KDB told The Wall Street Journal Tuesday that it has hired law and accounting firms to review the proposal starting 8 April, and that it expects due diligence to continue for a month.

Higher-risk Asian companies are rushing to sell long-term bonds, some for the first time, as they take advantage of strong demand and cheap borrowing costs.

(Click for larger chart image)

The issuance of “junk” bonds maturing in 10 years or longer has jumped more than fivefold to $5.39 billion this year in the Asian region outside Japan, compared with $866 million a year earlier, according to data provider Dealogic.

With yields globally near record lows, investors are willing to take more risk to buy longer-dated high-yield bonds that offer better returns, says Terence Chia, co-head of debt syndication for Citigroup Inc. in Asia.

Investors are rewarded with higher yields on longer-term debt, especially on bonds that are below investment grade, but it is riskier because there is a higher chance that the company will default before the bonds mature and repay the lender in full.

Chinese real estate developers have been especially active. Longfor Properties Co. and Country Garden Holdings Co. both sold their first 10-year bonds in January, with coupons of 7.5% and 6.75%, respectively. Outside of China, Philippines’ gambling company JG Summit Holdings Inc. raised US$750 million in a 10-year debt sale in January.

Investment-grade issuers still sell more longer-dated debt, with US$29.62 billion of bonds sold this year, up 24% from a year earlier, Dealogic said.

UBS AG continues its strong showing in the region outside Japan, ranking first in investment-banking in the first quarter, after it retained its spot at the end of 2012 as the top fee earner for the tenth year in a row. And like other banks in the region, the Swiss bank is also increasingly looking to debt sales as a source of revenue, despite its traditional strength as an equities house.

According to Dealogic data, the Swiss bank has made revenues of $167 million in the first quarter of 2013 in Asia Pacific excluding Japan, and including Australia, where UBS has a dominant position. J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. ranks second with $97 million.

Singapore’s Temasek Holdings Pte. Ltd. has set up an investment unit focused on liquefied natural gas, reflecting the state investment firm’s growing portfolio of energy assets and underscoring the increasing importance of LNG as a relatively clean-burning energy source.

Temasek is establishing the new unit as part of efforts to expand its energy-related holdings, which company officials have said are tantamount to investing in emerging economies with growing middle-class populations.

About Deal Journal

Deal Journal is an up-to-the-minute take on the deals and deal makers that shape the landscape of Wall Street, including mergers and acquisitions, capital-raising, private equity and bankruptcy. In short, wherever money changes hands. Deal Journal is updated throughout each trading day with exclusive commentary, analysis, data, news flashes and profiles. The Wall Street Journal’s David Benoit is the lead writer, with contributions from other Journal reporters and editors. Send news items, comments and questions to deals@wsj.com.

Dealpolitik is Ronald Barusch's strategic look at deals currently making the headlines as well as the major forces at work in the deal-making world. He was a M&A lawyer with Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom for over 30 years. He retired in 2010 after 25 years as a partner at the firm. Click here for his current and archived columns.